Changes

The doorway is near completion........Dad put up the finishing boards and the sheetrock. It is going to be freezing temps again tonight so we keep a sheet up to help keep out the draft! We also had to change the livingroom around so that we could go out the doorway! This sectional will be going into the new room when it is ready but this works for now!

Mom finished her part of the tablerunner.....I have to load and quilt it!

I finished quilting the first flannel baby quilt; just have to bind it now.

Progress is being made on the nameless owner's fingerless glove..........I know that the first pic is blurry but Nyki stuck her paw in and it looked so cute I had to include it! This is how she helps me knit it each evening!

Mom and I went to her church yesterday for some sewing........we put together sleeping bags for the homeless shelter. We learned a lot and enjoyed the conversation of other women.

Little Bits

Here are some of the things going on around me and mine since the last post.

Bill filled in the exposed cement blocks in the new doorway.

Dad started framing in the old window/new doorway.
Dad and Bill installed most of the electrical outlets and switches in the south addition.

Mom helped me load this so I could start quilting Millie's latest work, a twin log cabin.

I have been knitting more Russian boot slippers...............
and finished knitting the blank for Bruce's socks and Marsel's lacey, fingerless gloves.

Finished Millie's twin sized quilt and loaded the crib sized quilt.

Dyed the blank so it can now be knitted.

Played with Nyki.

Palm and Plum Trees

We had a full day yesterday! Both Matthew and Caleb came to visit their grandparents and spend the day-we all exercised our laugh lines! Matthew brought a NY visitor wanting to escape the perils of winter and since Randy spent so much time at our house previously, it was great to have him joining in again!

Nyki discovers the joys of a milk top ring! Bling benevolently supervises........

There are quite a few entrepreneurs selling their services door to door during these harder economic times. We had a visit from such a local father/son team and purchased 2 palm trees from them. They guarantee the trees will grow because they plant, fertilize and instruct you on how to care for them. When we first looked at this house-(5 yrs ago now!) we envisioned two Queen palms framing the sidewalk, welcoming all to our home. Today, we got another dream fulfilled!

When Caleb had to leave last night, he turned around and came back in to say that it is really neat to walk out between such beauties! What do you think?

As for the other tropical beauties in our yard, the brutal frosts have taken their toll. The good news is that most of the plants are beaten down but not destroyed; they will grow back and recover in just a few months. Take a tour..........

the banana trees......
the hibiscus tree...
the kalanchoes... the urn of wandering jew........

Marsel's poinsettia....

The garden took a beating........the peas and beets were all burned but look like they will recover; the green beans which we were just beginning to nibble on look like they will not.
But the seasons, they just keep on ..........look at the radiance of the Florida Native Plum tree in bloom! Now doesn't that just uplift your spirit?!

Trick or Treat?

Here are the treats......the results of yesterday's dye day..........

Another treat is the new way I am spinning some more mohair. I got some technical advice on spinning the mohair which will hopefully produce some lighter and fluffier skeins. I carded the roving which changes the way it spins and I also changed the whorl to a lower twist ratio and wow , what a difference from the last mohair I spun! It is good to stretch your wings and try something old in a new way.

Another treat was dinner at my parents and getting whomped (definitely the first trick part) at the Wahoo games and a game of Cribbage................


Bill purchased all the electrical supplies for the house-such a little pile for such a big price! It is worth it since I don't want to live without electricity-especially when it is as cold as tonight is supposed to get-in the 20's! It has been a long time since there has been a winter as cold as this in Florida. (Another trick) I hope this doesn't sound like whining. Shame on me! But my yard looks like it has colored halloween ghosts roaming around! I hope it gives the plants the protection it needs! (No, that is not a fire in the background-it is the rope of Christmas lights in the banana tree!)
Sleep tight and don't let Jack Frost bite........!

Project House is Back on Schedule!

Mom and I did some yarn dyeing together! She had never tried it before and we sure did have fun. (The angle of the pic is 'funny' cuz I had it set on the pumphouse roof which has a pitch I hadn't figured into my photo!)

Our skeins got handpainted, bagged and baked. The wool turned out great! The acrylic rinsed right out like we hadn't touched it-grrrrrrrrrrr! I had prepared mom for the element of surprise in dyeing but didn't expect this! I tossed our two skeins of acrylic into the crockpot and 4 hours later it was no longer a cream color-of course, it wasn't handpainted either but I wasn't going to let it beat me! Tomorrow, we will put the skeins onto the umbrella swift and wind it into balls for knitting.

While we were dyeing, the guys were taking out the window in the end of the livingroom and turning it into a doorway . They made good progress and will finish it up tomorrow, too. My Dad and Bill work well together-it is good to see! The daytime temps were mild today (70) but they buttoned it up for the night since the temps for our evenings are still cool-another freeze tomorrow night!-a sheet to cover the gap on this side and 2 pieces of plywood on the back side. No escaping kitties allowed!

Speaking of which, she has learned how to get my attention-steal my yarn and jump into the computer chair before me and then look innocent!

Finally Friends!

It has happened..........feline friends! We were pretty sure that it would happen but it is wonderful to see them play and snuggle together. Nyki has that affect on all of us.

I spun up the mohair........it is pleasing.

Not Up to Speed

I am not up to blogging speed lately.........

I have been enjoying my brother and sister-in-law's company, doing some touristy things with them and settling in with Nyki-she didn't like my absences for 5 days in a row! They have flown back to the frozen North and we (Dad , Mom and us) will be settling down to our winter routines which will include working on the additions, sewing and exploring for quilt/fiber shops with good restaurants nearby!

While I have been in the car, this is what I have done-->I have one more pair of Russian boot slippers and I will be moving on to another project-I will have used up the bag of chunky yarn which was the catalyst for this knitathon! (this bag of yarn yielded 5 pairs) I have been doing some spinning again. I have finished filling up this bobbin with the suffolk fiber I had been spinning and today I am going to start the birthday fiber-the mohair first.

When I sit down to the computer, I now have an assistant. She is determined to catch that cursor if it is the last thing she does! Now just how cute is that?! (The funny colored spot on her neck is where the vet had shaved her fur to remove a grub when she was first found-he had to disinfect the area, of course, and the fur would impair the process. It is healed now and the fur is growing back in-soon it won't show at all!)

Navigational Pleasures

We had planned our boat ride for Monday but the weather forecast helped us make some adjustments in our plans! Sunday was 78 and sunny--Monday was only expecting a high of 60! We hurriedlly changed clothes when we got home from church and met them in Crescent City for a trip across the Crescent Lake, up Dunns Creek and the St Johns river to Corky Bells restaurant.

Here is the whole gang-my first timed pic with my new camera-funny faces and all !

We had a great trip!